Most redheads don’t love their locks until their 20s, study finds – & ginger icons like Prince Harry reduce the stigma

BEING a redhead isn’t always easy when you’re going up.

In fact, the age of 20 is when redheads finally learnt to love their locks.

A study of 500 adults with red hair found 67 per cent per cent have spent years battling with their distinctive look – with almost half even attempting to dye it.

And with 47 per cent experiencing bullying because of their hair, 75 per cent of these wished at one point they had a different colour entirely.

But by their early 20s, a lot of redheads loved the fact their tresses stood them apart from blondes and brunettes – as a quarter finally found a style which compliments their distinctive look.

The research was commissioned Roland DG, which has created the ‘50 Shades of Ginger’ colour index – including the Sheeran, Canyon and Sunset to help redheads find their exact match – and to celebrate World Redhead Day on May 26.

The digital printing solution brand teamed up with TV celeb Jenny Ryan, who said: “As a proud redhead, I’ve grown to truly love my red hair and embrace the fact it makes me different to others.

“But I wasn’t surprised to hear that wasn’t the case for many – growing up with a different hair colour to most was challenging, but now I celebrate my redhead status.

“If anything, I’m proud of it!”

The research went on to find 54 per cent would never describe their hair as ‘ginger’.

More than one in three of these don’t feel like the word is a good representation of their hair colour, and prefer terms like dark burgundy, strawberry blonde and bright auburn.

But 73 per cent did admit it can be difficult to know how to describe red hair, the research conducted via OnePoll found.

However, 77 per cent now believe it is very fashionable to have red hair – and even more feel celebrities sporting the bright look have helped to reduce the stigma around having it.

Ed Sheeran, Prince Harry and Nicole Kidman have been named by the panel of red heads as the most iconic to rock the hair colour – followed by Mick Hucknall and Chris Evans.

In fact, eight in 10 believe it is important for younger redheads to have role models for them to look up to with a similar colour.

Lauren Swinnerton from Roland DG added: “Our research found that 54 per cent of red heads would never describe their hair as ‘ginger’ and for years, people have struggled to truly define their hair colour – with many viewing the most common term as somewhat derogatory.

“So, we got to work to develop 50 shades to show the full spectrum of shades that make up the vast colour gamut of redheads.

“Being a redhead goes far beyond hair colour – it’s a visual representation of individualism, expression and beauty and we strongly believe no one term can define the many shades of redheads, which is why we’ve created our celebratory redhead colour index.

 “This rings true to the ethos we hold as a printing business – as we celebrate colour and expressiveness, and thrives on standing out from the crowd.”